Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-01
GYMNASTIC POINTS.
The Beginner Should 60 to Work in a
Moderate Manner, Avoiding Hard
Labor at the Start.
Some Account of the Peculiarities- of the
Parallel and Horizontal Bars, Dumb
Bells and Other Apparatus.

Since the establishment of turn We
rein in Fort Worth, which is making good
Roadway and already has fine list of
membership, many young men of the city
are taking deep interest in ell sorts of
gymnsstic exercise. A GAZETTE man
was talking yesterday to one of the most
accomplished athletes in Texas, q
gentleman who was once g teacher OF
gymnastics in large eastern city, and
who is fond Of discoursing on his favor
tie theme. Speaking of beginners in the
business he said: The young gymnast
usually begins by working too hard. 1t
is hard to teach a man moGera-
ton on his first day in the gym
nasium, but on the second day 1t
is usually more difficult to persuade him
to do anything at all. The first days
exercises has a telling effect upon the
unframed muscles. By the time the
young gymnast goes to bed he begins to
feel as if be had the rheumatism in every
fibre of his body from the waist up, and
when he arises in the morning he is so
sore that every movement causes pain.
He is loath to make single motion that
is unnecessary, and eXertion of strength
causes him to groan. There is only one
thing to be done, and that is to go
right to work again. The muscles are
stiff and the stiffness must be taken out.
SO let the young gymnast get his clubs
and swing away. After the first few
moments the soreness will begin to de-
crease and will gradually disappear. The
next day it will be just as bad as ever,
and must be removed by the same
method. In few days it Will permanent
Iy disappear, and the gymnast will dis
cover that his muscles have already be-
gun to show the effects of systematic
exercise.
It will then be time for him to take to
the parallel bars, two long pieces of
wood, supported on uprights and placed
side by side Just about as far apart as the
width Of good-slzed mans shoulders.
The first thing the beginner usually does
is to practice pushing up and down,
Placing his hands upon the bars
he supports his body above them,
while his legs hang down between.
Then by bending his arms at the elbows
he lowers his body as far as he can, and
pushes it up again by Strengthening his
arm. This looks simple enough, but it is
cruel hard work at first. The beginner,
however, must keep at it till he can do it
fifteen or twenty times. He must con-
tinue the club swinging, and may add
g little light dumb-bell exercise. Heavy
dumO-Dells should be escheWed by alI
except those who are not going in
for heavy gymnastics. They are not
healthtul, and plenty of fine development
can be got without them. "Curling"
dumb bells will develop the biceps. Hold
the bells straight downward at arms
length, the palms of the hands forward,
and then, by fixing the arm az the elbow
joint, lift the bells to the shoulder with
out moving the arm above the elbow.
That's ''curling."
Now the young gymnast is ready for
the "sWing and dip" Mount the par
sllel bars as before described and swing
the legs backward and forward. When
they are at the backward end of the swing
let the body down as far as it Willgo,
and at the forward end of the swing push
up. That is the front swing sad dfp.
Letting down at the forward end ofsthe
swing and pushing up at the rear endeon-
stitutes the back swing and dip. Pushing up
ana down stesch swing backward and
forward is the double swing and dip, and
a very little of it will satisfy taebeginner.
Next try plain "grasshOpper" Jump.
Let down as before described, without
any swing, and pushing up vigorously,
jump forward on the hands along the
bars. If the beginner jumps SIX inches